25 CRPF jawans die in Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district

The 12 injured jawans, 4 of them critical, were evacuated from the encounter site and brought to Raipur for treatment.

Update: 2017-04-24 19:26 GMT
Injured CRPF being brought to Raipur for treatment on Monday follwing a Maoist attack at Burkapal near Chintagufa in Bastar. (Photo: PTI)

Bhopal/New Delhi: Around 300 Maoists, armed with sophisticated weapons, on Monday mounted a deadly attack on a CRPF patrol party guarding road workers in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, leaving 25 jawans dead and a dozen others wounded.

This was the biggest strike on security forces by Maoists in Bastar — one of the worst-hit regions by Left-wing extremism in the country — since April 6, 2010 when  76 CRPF personnel were massacred in Sukma.

At least eight CRPF personnel, including a commander-rank officer, were missing in Monday’s attack that took place at Burkapal village in Dornapal block of the district at 12.55 pm.

Bastar DIG P. Sunder Raj said, “We are still awaiting detailed report (of the encounter).”

A CRPF spokesman at Raipur told this newspaper that the Maoists also looted some weapons of the slain jawans.

The 12 injured jawans — four of them critical — were evacuated from the encounter site by choppers and brought to Raipur for treatment.

Reinforcements, including CoBRA commandos of the CRPF and its other units, have been rushed to the scene from the nearest camp of the paramilitary force, officials said.

The CRPF jawans of the 74th battalion were conducting an area domination operation to provide security to workers engaged in the construction of a seven-km road when the Maoists ambushed them.

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